Boom, Bust, Boom, Bust....

The lost decade: prices now back to 2001 level

SO HOW did it all go so wrong in the property market? For a while there, mid-noughties, people in the property business felt they could walk on water. Now, with almost a decade of growth wiped off the value of Irish homes, both buyers and sellers are asking, how low can we go? Are we still in freefall, bumping along the bottom, or seeing the beginnings of recovery? Nobody wants to make the call.

[source: Irish Times - click for full article]

George Michael - December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)

Although it's a nice song, I'm still not 100% decided if it lives up to the usual high quality of George's material in terms of content; it does feel somewhat short or lacking. Saying that, it does have a lovely melancholy feel about it, a nicely animated video and the softness of his aged voice make it pleasent to the ear.

Car Trouble

Although my ambition to get my driver's license by Dec 2008 fell by the wayside somewhat, I have been doing lots of driving in the meantime. I went for my first "official" lesson in the past 6 months there on Saturday and was happy to hear that the instructor deemed my driving up to test-ready standard, which is fantastic. I've applied for the test (hurrah! I hear you all say in unison), with an extra "asap, cancellations please!" in the comments section so hopefully I'll get a slot in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, my poor little Punto needs some TLC after failing the NCT :( I was pretty pissed off actually, as I had previously bought two spanking new front tyres pre-NCT only to be failed on one of the rear-tyres, some problem with the rear brakes (who needs brakes anyway, I say) and an undetermined engine leak (more than likely a loose cap somewhere). This means I've to fork out more cash, but hopefully I'll be able to get it re-tested in a week or so and be back out terrorizing slow-moving pedestrians and wobbly cyclists.

On the work front, I don't think I've ever been busier. It seems as though every contract job we had lined up have all suddenly come in at the same time, which is great for the company, but not so great for me as it means a few crazy busy weeks ahead especially as all the shared responsibilities that come with being in such a small company often means double-the-workload for me.

Motivation

Motivation does not come first, action does! You have to prime the pump.... Individuals who procrastinate frequently confuse motivation and action. You foolishly wait until you feel in the mood to do something. Since you don't feel like doing it, you automatically put it off.